computer_cable_game_showsfandomcom-20200213-history
Sale of the Century
OPENING SPIEL: ''Tonight on the biggest bargain sale we're offering a brand new car /(insert car name) valued at 6000 for 585. Cash & prizes worth over 3382 for 480. Two of the incredible bargains on... (echoing) Sale of the Century." And now, here's the star of the show, Craig Charles! '''Sale of the Century' was a long-running quiz show mixed in with shopping. Hosted by Craig Charles and Claudia Winkleman. Premise The format centered around three contestants answering general knowledge questions, buying prizes at a low cost, and attempting to win a huge cash jackpot. Gameplay Three contestants (one a returning champion) were given 20 to start. The host asked a series of questions, all of which were toss-ups, and only one person can answer each one. The first contestant to buzz-in with a correct answer gets 5, but an incorrect answer loses 5. The Contestant Area Sotccontestantarea.png|In October 1995, The Contestants are Ping, Julius and Sheree. Instant Bargain During the game, the player in the lead (originally all three contestants) or contestants who were tied was given a chance to buy a special prize for a bargain price. To buy the prize, the contestant must hit his/her buzzer; doing so won the prize which became his/hers to keep win or lose, but the bargain value of the prize was deducted from his/her score. On the original version, if a player buzzed in before the prize was revealed, the sale price was deducted from his/her score without buying the prize. Charles usually tempted the contestant by offering some extra cash and/or lowering the bargain price of the prize, and afterward he said, "Going once, Going twice." If the contestant did not ring in, he said, “No sale.” Sometimes instant bargains offered "Sale Surprises", which were bonus cash amounts ranging from about 500 to 1000, and the contestant who bought the prize got the bonus cash. The surprise would only be revealed either after the player bought the prize, or after Charles said, “No sale.” Instant Cash Beginning in 1996, the third Instant Bargain was replaced with the new Instant Cash. The player in the lead faced three black boxes numbered 1, 2 and 3. Two of them had 100 bills while the one remaining one contained a cash jackpot which started at 1000 plus 1000 more for every day it's not won. To play, the player in the lead must surrender his/her lead (the price was the difference between the leader and the second place player). In case of a tie for the lead, the hostess was held between those players. If he/she decided to play (by hitting his/her buzzer) or whoever decided to play, the player selected one of the boxes and whatever the amount inside was his/hers to keep. Fame Game In the version, and in all three rounds, all three players got to participate in the Fame Game. The host read a "Who am I?"-typed question in which the clues get easier as time progressed. The first player to buzz in had a chance to answer. An incorrect answer forced that player to sit out the rest of the question without money penalties. The first contestant to buzz in with a correct answer faced a game board with nine numbers (1-9). Behind those numbers were cash awards, prizes, surprises and Money Cards (10, 15, and 25) which were added for each round, there was an occasional 5 Money Card as well. The player in control chose a number, and whatever he/she found now belonged to that player. If a Money Card was found, its value was added to the player's score. Plus, there were two spaces that gave the player in control to either take a cash prize or choose another number (one marked 400, the other a mystery amount between 175 & 1,500). The Fame Game.png|Claudia Winkleman is in the Fame Game Board with 9 squares. Final Round For the first time, host Charles would read three more 5 questions for a total of 15. This was scrapped when many games were already decided prior to this, in favor of the well-remembered Speed Round. Speed Round In the Speed Round, the host would ask as many questions as possible during the next 60 seconds. Correct answers were still worth 5 in the version. The player with the most money won the game. If there was a tie at the end, the host would read one final question (a Fame Game/Who am I question in the earlier months of the version). A correct answer won 5 more and the game, but an incorrect answer cost 5 and the game. In the case of a three way tie, the first contestant to buzz-in and miss was out of the game. The winning player became Sale of the Century champion and in the final years of the show also won a bonus prize (originally a choice of one behind numbers 1-6), while the losers kept their final scores in cash in addition to everything else. Shopping The champion won a chance to buy a grand prize at a bargain price using his/her winning score. Six prizes were on display with the biggest prize being a brand new luxury car. The champion can either buy the grand prize which he/she had enough money to buy with and leave the show, or return on the next show with the money scored that day being added to the next day's winning score. Winner's Board Starting in March 1996, the winning contestant faced the Winner's Board. The Winner's Board consisted of 20 numbered squares. Behind those numbers were matching pairs of prizes, 500 cash, and two WIN cards which constituted an automatic match. The champion picked off numbers to reveal the prizes; the first prize matched was the prize won. If at any time one of the WIN cards was revealed, the next prize revealed was the prize won. The two biggest prizes were 1000 cash and a new car; they both appeared only once. To win either one of those, the player must first find one of the WIN cards, then find one of the biggest prizes. Once the board was cleared (all prizes matched), the champion must then make a decision to either keep all the prizes or risk losing the prizes (not counting any of the main game prizes) for one more game. Winning the next game not only kept the prizes, but also won an additional 10 000 in cash. It should be noted that to transition from the shopping format to the Winner's Board, the champion at that point was given the option to bail with the prize offered, or keep the prize and continue as champion into the new format. Big Winners *'Kiki': Was the very first contestant to win the 4000. She later went on to win the very first Champion Challenge, winning a grand total of 64,985 in cash and prizes. Gallery Craig and Claudia.png|Craig Charles and Claudia Winkleman are hosts themselves. Kiki, Craig and Claudia.png|Champion Kiki with Craig and Claudia. Inventor Al Howard External links Sale of the Century U.S. version on NBC Category:Nick Jr. shows Category:Flops Category:Game shows about Shopping Category:1995 premieres Category:1996 endings